God's Timing

When God speaks to my heart about something through the Bible, I like to underline the verse and then put the date next to it.

This past week I came across a verse that I had underlined and dated for the first time back on 7/9/87.

Psalm 27:14

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart, and wait for the Lord.

I remember distinctly that day, reading this verse for the first time. I don’t like to WAIT, so it was hard for me to realize that God wanted me to do this. Then over and over, I came back to that verse on 10/9/87, 1/26/88, 2/1/88, 10/22/88, 11/11/88, 4/16/90, 4/14/91, 5/21/91, 3/22/93, and finally on 11/10/93. Throughout all of these years, God’s timing did not appear. I believed that He was speaking to my heart to just WAIT. Looking back now, I can see why I needed to wait. I still had so much more to learn.

God’s timing is always perfect. I can see that the timing is finally right. Every single day God brings someone along who wants to learn more about our ministry. He’s bringing people along to join together with us. I could never explain to you what a blessing this has been.

Looking back, it all began back in October when God first provided an office for me. A wonderful Christian couple named Jack and Shelley allowed me to have an office in their building and in return, I could help them with some cleaning. My office was walking distance from my home. This was the beginning.

Next, in January, Jack and Shelley allowed me to use another room in their building to set up our very first LISTENING Room, which is a place for people in the community to get away and spend time with God. It was so much fun to decorate the LISTENING Room and it was even more exciting when our first person came and used it.

I would like to publicly express my deepest gratitude to Jack and Shelley for allowing me to have a place to begin. My prayer is that God will bless them abundantly for their wonderful gift to this ministry.

Over the next week I am going to share with you different people that God has been bringing to this ministry. It reminds me over and over that…..

1 Thessalonians 5:24
The one who calls you is faithful and HE will do it.

SPECIAL THANKS

Throughout my twenty-three years of learning to listen, God would always bring someone along to be just the encouragement I needed to keep me going. My family has played that role over and over again. I am so thankful for each one of them.

Then there has been another person that has been in my life for many years. Her name is Marilyn. Several years ago I shared the vision for this ministry with her. She was encouraging, but at that time, she did not feel I was ready to begin moving forward. She did not tell me this at the time, but in her heart she just knew that I was not ready. God was still working in me and looking back, He was.

The past January I felt overwhelmed with the thoughts that were swirling around in my head about He’s SPEAKING! Are we LISTENING?, The Inside Outside MAKEOVER, The Community Connection, etc., etc. Time was passing quickly and I did not know if I would ever get this all pulled together. I am a dreamer and a visionary, but pulling it all together was way out of reach for me. I prayed that God would send someone along to get this ministry off the ground, but I also knew that God’s timing is perfect.

One day in February, I was at a Prayer Committee meeting at church. We ended our session in Prayer. It was during this time that I felt an overwhelming urgency that it was time to begin moving out with all of the dreams in my heart. I had no idea how to begin and quit frankly, I was tired. I thought it would be so much easier to just turn the other way and do something completely different.

As I was pulling out of the church parking lot, my phone rang. It was Marilyn. One thing led to another and we ended up meeting at a local coffee shop. We sat and talked, or should I say, I talked. God used Marilyn in my life that day to encourage me to keep going and not to give up. I’ll never forget the words that she said to me that day. She firmly said, “Robin, you can’t give up. This is good stuff!” I needed to hear these words on this day. I left the coffee shop that day uplifted and being reminded that

1 Thessalonians 5:24
The one who calls you is faithful and He will do it.

It is now four months later, and Marilyn has just completed our Ministry Manual. She is truly a gifted woman. She has been using her talents to guide us to the door of becoming a non-profit. We are walking blindly by faith, and taking one day at a time. We have no idea where the money will come from to actually become a non-profit, but we know that with God nothing is impossible.

So much has happened so quickly. My sister Sharon told me years ago, when things begin happening it will be unbelievable. UNBELIEVABLE! That is truly the word I would use to describe our feelings.

I would like to publicly thank Marilyn, my dear friend, for being there for me when I felt like quitting everything I had been working on for so long. I will cherish the memory of that day in the coffee shop. I know God has great plans for Marilyn’s life. I am honored that she has joined together with me in this ministry as Executive Administrator.

I mentioned to Marilyn that I wanted to write this and this was her humble reply:

It is nice of you to want to thank me publicly on the net...but it is God not me that deserves the thanks. When we listen to his voice we need to obey. I know it was God that prompted me to call you that day for he knew just what you needed. I certainly had no clue why but that is just like God......he picks us up just when he knows we feel like quitting. So I want to give him back the praise, as he placed me in your path that day not only to give you renewed hope and encouragement but to give me the mission to help out. As inadequate as I feel, this above any other mission has taught me to humble myself and totally rely on God's leading. I am excited to see how God will help people through this ministry and it is a blessing to be serving the Lord together.

Thanks Marilyn!
Sisters in Christ,
Robin

March 26, 1987

I remember this day so vividly. Our family was in Manila, Philippines serving as missionaries. It was a hot muggy day, as it was most days there. I was at our kid’s school, Faith Academy, which is on top of a mountain, overlooking the city of Manila.

It was on this day, I felt deep inside of me that God’s plan for my life was going to take a turn, or change in my life. I really had no idea what this might mean, but one thing I had learned throughout my life was that following God’s plan was the desire in my heart.

It’s now, 22 years later. I have spent many of those years in a learning room, discovering how to really listen to God in my life. I been waiting for the day that I could finally move out and share about all that I have learned. I know that day is around the corner.

God has begun to open doors for me to begin speaking about all that I have learned. I am humbled to be able to do this because who am I? I am just a simple person who struggles from day to day, like everyone else, trying to learn more about building my relationship with God.

As I look back, I am so thankful for my family who has stood by me all of these years. I owe anything good that comes out of my learning to them. They have helped and encouraged me over and over again. Each one of them has used their talents to help me in some way or another throughout the years. So I would like to thank them publicly in honor of who they are.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

My wonderful husband Dave of 38 years
To My Four sons, David, Jeremy Andy, Aaron
To my two Daughters in law, Stacy and Katie (and soon to be Rebecca)
To my beautiful grandchildren, Tyler, Brooke, Streme

The BOOK

I am a book, I’m all alone and I have no shelf where I can stand,
Is this the way that it should be, or is there another plan?
How I long for many, to pick me up, and read me,
But all I can do is wait and wait and maybe it will be.

Nobody knows who I am, or knows my author’s name,
But work involved in birthing me, like other books is the same.
It took many years to write and edit me; at least four editions arose,
But finally the day arrived, the final one came to a close.

Then I realized one day, it did not matter, the number who would read me,
Even if my words could help one person, how exiting that would be.
I decided that I would be happy, for the few who would open my cover,
This is a very important truth that I a book, had to discover.

One day, to my surprise my author brought me to a wonderful place,
A church library decided that I could stand up in a very special space.
They placed me on a shelf next to many other important books,
I will be thankful for one person who opens me and looks.

It's NOT what we do, it's how we LIVE

I had an unexpected funeral this week for a wonderful man named, Bill Wagner. I was asked if I would share some fun stories from his friends. I was honored to do this. You see this man has been someone I had admired for many years.

While we were missionaries in the Philippines, Bill and his wife Carol, encouraged us in so many ways. When we came back from the Philippines they allowed us to use their brand new van for the summer and then into the fall. WHO WOULD REALLY DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS? Only Bill and Carol.

As the people called, and e-mailed me their stories I kept seeing the same thing over and over. First, this man had a wonderful smile and a contagious laugh. When he walked into a room, it would come alive. But more importantly, this man realized what was really important in his life. Even though he owned his own business and accomplished many things, he still kept giving and giving himself, and his possessions, to people all around him.

It seemed that he and his wife Carol would show up out of nowhere at someone’s house just when they needed help. OR, they would share their earthy possessions with someone else who needed a helping hand.

When the funeral was over and we were heading to the cemetary I thought, "This is the way I want to be remembered!" Thank you Bill for your life example.

PRAYER Plant

This year for my birthday I received a Prayer Plant from my sister. It was so beautiful. It was bushy with shiny green leaves. Now, I do not have a green thumb, so I was a little worried for the life of my plant. How would I live with the fact that I had killed a Prayer Plant?

Immediately, I sat down in my soft cozy chair and began reading about taking care of my plant. Would just KNOWING the directions make my plant grow? No, I would have to put those words into actions otherwise it would die.

Well, life is busy, and I forgot all about my Prayer Plant for one week. When I walked into the room where my Prayer Plant lives, I was devastated. It looked dead. I thought I had killed it already. I felt terrible that I had neglected it.

In a panic, I rushed my Prayer Plant to the sink to immediately begin to resuscitate it with water. That did not help at all. It still looked dead. I flew across the room and placed it quickly in a window that had plenty of sunlight. All I could do was wait.

The next day I walked into the room, looked at my Prayer Plant and I could not contain myself. I picked it up and together we twirled around the room. My Prayer Plant looked gorgeous. I was overwhelmed with joy. I promised myself I would never neglect my Prayer Plant again.

This reminded me of my Prayer Life. It is so easy to neglect it too. Life is so…..busy. I know the directions of how to use Prayer in my life, but I must take actions daily to make it grow.